Fairfield, Conn. - The Stony Brook softball team nearly rallied from a five-run hole on Wednesday vs. Sacred Heart, but fell one run short in an 8-7 loss in rainy Fairfield, Conn. Sophomore Nicole Hagerty knocked in three runs, while freshman Shayla Giosia had three hits and an RBI.

The Seawolves (31-12-1) were first on the board in the top of the second when Hagerty ripped a bases-loaded double into left-center to plate three runs and give the visitors an early edge.

Sacred Heart (19-30) responded in a big way, however, scoring the next eight runs, including a solo homer in the second and a three-run blast in the fourth off Stony Brook starter Allison Cukrov (Irvine, Calif.).

Faced with an 8-3 deficit in the sixth, the Seawolves began to chisel away. Freshman Lauren Kamachi (Surrey, British Columbia) stepped to the plate with runners at first and second and delivered an RBI single through the middle to bring the score to 8-4.

Stony Brook scored its next two runs in the inning via Sacred Heart errors to make it 8-6, before Giosia knocked a single into center to score senior Suzanne Karath (Fishkill, N.Y.) and advance senior Alyssa Hawley (Spokane, Wash.) to third. With the tying run just a base away, Sacred Heart pitcher Taylor Lane buckled down and induced a groundout to put an end to the rally.

Giosia finished the game 3-for-4, while Hawley went 2-for-4. Each team had nine hits on the day.

Due to a lengthy rain delay during the first game, the second game of the scheduled doubleheader was canceled due to impending darkness.

The Seawolves return to action this weekend for a three-game series against conference foe Binghamton. The teams will play two games Saturday starting at noon, before wrapping up the series Sunday with a single game also at noon.